Dispensers exist for use in storing and dispensing sheet material such as paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, paper products and the like. The dispensers are normally located in restaurants, kitchens, restrooms or other places in which a need for such sheet material exists. The dispensers are usually configured to function in the most sanitary manner possible as they are used in areas where cleanliness is desirable.
Certain types of dispensers are configured to house a roll of sheet material such that a free end of sheet material is presented for a user. The sheet material is sometimes engaged with a drive roller inside of the housing so that pulling of the free end by the user will cause the drive roller to rotate due to frictional engagement with the sheet material. The drive roller may include a drive mechanism that allows the drive roller to rotate a predetermined number of degrees so that a predetermined length of sheet material is dispensed for the user. A cutting mechanism may be configured into or with the drive mechanism in order to cut the sheet material.
A feeding mechanism, such as an eccentric spring mechanism, may be included that causes the drive roller to rotate once the sheet material has been cut. This action causes a predetermined length of sheet material to be subsequently dispensed so that once again a free end of the sheet material is presented to a future user for dispensing. In some instances, the drive roller may be equipped with a cutting tool such as a bar, blade or the like that extends from a retracted position to an extended position once the drive roller reaches a predetermined rotational position that causes cutting of the sheet material.
Dispensers of the described type are typically known by various names such as “sanitary” dispensers, “no touch” dispensers, or “hands-free” dispensers because the user does not have to manually operate any portion of the dispenser. The present application refers to these types of dispensers as “no touch” dispensers. The user of this type of dispenser only needs to touch the free end of the particular piece of sheet material that he or she is dispensing for his or her use. The spread of germs to or from the dispenser and sheet material in the dispenser is eliminated because the user is only touching his or her own piece of sheet material.
Although prior “no touch” dispensers work well for their intended purpose, they are sometimes difficult or expensive to manufacture or use due to their complex construction. Additionally, reliability is sometimes a problem in that sheet material can get jammed inside of the dispenser or a user may inadvertently tear off a portion of the sheet material instead of fully pulling the sheet material to cause a full dispense. The present invention improves upon “no touch” sheet dispensers in providing a mechanism for automatic dispensing that is reliable and is less expensive and complex than prior mechanisms used in “no touch” dispensers.